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“ First Steps to Lawn Tennis "■ 


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FIRST STEPS TO LAWN TENNIS 































































































































































































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A. E. Beamish 

Roehampton Club 


Graflex 


January, 1922 








FIRST STEPS TO 
LAWN TENNIS 


BY 

A. E. BEAMISH 

ROEHAMPTON CLUB 


WITH 24 ILLUSTRATIONS FROM PHOTOGRAPHS BY 

E. H. D. SEWELL 

TAKEN WITH GRAFLEX CAMERA 


SMALL, MAYNARD & COMPANY 

INCORPORATED 

41 MT. VERNON STREET 
BOSTON 


6r 1 /«h s 

. 3 +- 


GIFT 

PU3L ISHn? 

SO* n :si s 


Printed in Great Britain by Hazell, Watson & Viney, Ld., 
London and Aylesbury. 

Copyright in Great Britain, 

Mills <S* Boon, Ltd., London 





CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Introduction.13 

The Choice of a Racket . . .14 
Choice of Shoes and Clothes . .18 


Analysis of the Primary Strokes of Lawn 


Tennis ...... 22 

Footwork ...... 25 

The Grip.27 

Forehand Grip . . . . .28 

Forehand Stroke . 30 

Chief Difficulties of the Stroke for 

Beginners .33 

Forehand Stroke Down the Line . 33 

Difficulties and Remedies . . 35 

Backhand Stroke .37 

The Grip ...... 37 

The Stroke . . . . .40 

The Service ...... 42 

Smash. 49 

Difficulties of the Stroke . .51 


9 


10 CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Backhand Smash.52 

The Stroke . . . . .54 

Difficulties of the Beginner . . 55 

The Volley.55 

Forehand Volley . ■ . .57 

Difficulties of the Beginner . . 59 

Backhand Volley.59 

The Stroke . . . . .60 

Difficulties in Making the Shot . 62 

Half-Volley.63 

How to Make the Stroke . . .65 

Drop Shot.68 

The Stroke.69 

The Chop Stroke.71 

Strokes and Tactics and their Relation 

to One Another . . . .75 

Ladies’ Play.80 

The Service.82 

The Overhead Smash . .84 

The Forehand Stroke . . 86 

The Backhand Stroke . . .87 

Useful Hints and Points . . . .89 

Hints in General . . . .89 

Hints for Play and Practice . .91 

Hints for Service . . . .93 





ILLUSTRATIONS 


1. A. E. Beamish 


Frontispiece 


2. Position to Receive Service . . . 25' 

3. Forehand Grip : Front View . . .29 

4. Forehand Grip : Back View . . .29 

5. Forehand Stroke : Beginning of Swing . 31 

6. Forehand Stroke : Half-way through Swing 33 

7. Forehand Stroke : Finish of Swing . . 33 

8. Forehand Stroke across Court : Beginning 

of Forward Swing of the Racket . 34 

9. Forehand Stroke across Court : Finish of 

Follow Through of the Racket . . 34 

10. Forehand Stroke Down the Line . . 36 

11. Backhand Grip: Front View . . .38 

12. Backhand Grip: Back View . . .38 

13. Backhand Stroke : Swing Back of the 

Racket.41 

14. Backhand Stroke : Half-way through the 

Stroke after the Ball has been Struck 42 

15. Service : Swing Back of Racket and 

Throw up of the Ball .... 

11 


45 


12 ILLUSTRATIONS 

page 

16. Service : After the Ball has been Struck 46 

17. Service : Finish of the Follow Through . 47 

18. Service : A Different Position . . .48 

19. Smash: Forehand.60 

20. Backhand Stroke Across the Court . 63 

21. Backhand Stroke Down the Line . . 53 

22. Backhand Smash.54 

23. Forehand Volley : Low Ball . . .57 

24. Forehand Volley.58 



FIRST STEPS TO LAWN 
TENNIS 


INTRODUCTION 

The main object of this little book is to give to 
beginners that instruction which will enable 
them to acquire the correct method of produc¬ 
ing the primary strokes of the game. Such 
advice must of necessity be very general in its 
character, as different physiques employ different 
means. Yet underlying every method there is, 
or should be, a principle on which this method is 
founded, and it is the writer's aim to make as 
clear as possible these fundamental rules, so that 
the beginner may be able to produce the simple 
strokes of the game, and acquire a sound style 
without which he will never be able to advance 
far along the road to success. For what is 
termed “ good style,” as distinct from natural 
grace of movement, is merely the manner of 
making all the strokes of the game by a method 
which allows of the largest margin of error in 

13 


14 FIRST STEPS TO LAWN TENNIS 


the event of a miscalculation and unexpected 
happening immediately before, during, and after 
the beginning of the actual stroke. Hence the 
necessity for its acquisition through understand¬ 
ing the first principles on which each stroke is 
based. Again, since Lawn Tennis is a game 
played with one hand, the beginner finds it far 
easier to.play in its very early stages than either 
cricket or golf, which being two-handed are more 
artificial in their practice. As a rule, what is 
easily acquired at a game, unless one is specially 
gifted by nature, is what is of least value and 
generally hardest to discard. In the early stages 
of his struggles with the game the beginner will 
not be far wrong if he goes on the principle that 
all natural habits are bad habits, and acts 
accordingly. We can now pass to the considera¬ 
tion of two questions, to which players do not 
give sufficient attention, viz. their rackets and 
clothing for the game. 

The Choice of a Racket, Remarks about 
Clothes and Shoes 

The average player, until fairly recent times, 
never paid much attention to the choice of the 


CHOICE OF A RACKET 15 

racket he was getting, and still less to the 
question of the clothes in which he proposed 
to play. 

His shoes probably received as little attention 
as either of the two first, and would in all pro¬ 
bability have been neglected longer but for the 
painful manner in which he was made aware of 
their unworkmanlike qualities in use. 

The favourite reply of “ any old thing is good 
enough for me '' was his usual answer to advice 
to get a good racket and new balls whenever 
possible. At other games—at billiards or golf, 
for example—no player, whether the limit man 
in his club handicap at billiards or an 18 handi¬ 
cap man at his golf club, would pay so little 
attention to the implements of his game. 

So the beginner should be warned on no 
account to be too modest in his demands. He 
should, in fact, ask for and get the best in the 
matter of rackets and balls, clothes and shoes, 
for playing the game in as workmanlike and 
comfortable a manner as the manufacturers' 
skill can ensure. 

When the novice chooses his racket, if he hasn't 
an expert friend to help him in person, he must 
remember certain points and hints as well as he 


16 FIRST STEPS TO LAWN TENNIS 


can, or lie will be sure to get something quite 
unsuited to him. 

Generally speaking, he should be guided by 
the strength of his wrist and muscles, the size of 
his hand, and other physical details, which vary 
with everyone and consequently render any 
arbitrary rules for selection of the racket quite 
impossible. 

In the writer's opinion there are three points 
at least which every good racket must possess, 
besides those which are demanded by the in¬ 
dividual characteristics of the selector. 

1. The racket must be well strung, i.e. have 
an even tension of gut all over the playing sur¬ 
face. 

2. It must be well balanced, i.e. when swung 
back and downwards, swing easily without drag 
at any point. This quality is very difficult to 
find, except by contrast. The writer knows 
from the “ feel '' of the racket that “ comes up 
badly” how the well-balanced article should 
behave. 

3. The racket's head should be long rather 
than round in shape, with a concave block in 
the shoulder. This last detail is most necessary, 
for the sound reason that thereby about l inch 


CHOICE OF A RACKET 17 

more length is obtained in the main strings, 
which will thus have a correspondingly increased 
power of drive. 

In addition to these vital points, the charac¬ 
teristics of a good racket, which the beginner 
should learn to look out for and recognize in the 
selection of his racket, there are other points, 
more individual to his own peculiarities, which 
he will have to find out for himself. He must 
exercise his judgment as to the size and shape 
of the handle, point of balance, style of stringing, 
and thickness of gut, as well as upon other small 
details not so important to the quality as to the 
appearance of the racket itself. 

The beginner is advised to choose a racket of 
from 134 oz. to 14J oz. in weight, never less and 
never more, if for use by a man ; and one from 
13 to 134 oz., never more than this weight, if 
for use by a lady. The racket should be tightly 
strung (never play with a loosely strung racket 
at any cost), of medium gut, as having the best 
qualifications for wear, with a long head, and a 
concave block (for reason given above) at the 
shoulder. The size of the handle is so absolutely 
a matter of individual choice that no opinion 
can be given on the question; the beginner, 
2 


18 FIKST STEPS TO LAWN TENNIS 

however, should remember that the ills attendant 
upon the use of too big a handle are greater than 
the penalties that wait upon the users of one too 
small. In the first instance, by giving the 
fingers too much to hold, the player will lose 
flexibility of wrist, and probably strain his 
muscles; in the second case, the racket will 
twist in the hand, more often than not, and the 
stroke be spoiled. In the first case downright 
damage wdll probably be done, in the latter 
merely some lost games. From this the 
beginner should know his best course is to get 
a handle that exactly suits him and avoid both 
evils. 

Choice o! Shoes and Clothes 

The player's shoes should come relatively next 
in importance to his racket. Too often they are 
last thought of, when his bag is being packed, 
hurriedly sought for, and stuffed in the last 
thing of all. The shoes known as “ steel points," 
for play when courts are wet, suffer especially 
from this most culpable neglect, which, however, 
brings disaster on the forgetful player with the 
first wet day. An international player, who 


CHOICE OF SHOES AND CLOTHES 19 


accompanied the writer to Australia on a Davis 
Cup tour, was guilty of this sin of omission, and 
was forced to wear a borrowed pair all through 
the tour when the weather was wet. He had 
left his “ steel points ” at home, he said, with 
his umbrella, and suffered accordingly. 

The player's shoes should always be made to 
measure, be as perfect a fit (on the tight side 
when new) as possible, with the uppers of white 
buckskin (or mock buck in these days), and with 
thick soles of soft red or yellow rubber. 

The soles composed of crepe rubber are 
excellent for all surfaces, whether hard or grass, 
are capable of holding up the player on the 
most slippery grass court, after rain, and appear 
able to resist the hardest wear. The shoes with 
canvas uppers are useful to have as a second 
pair (every player should always start with 
two pairs of shoes), since they are light, allow the 
feet great freedom and flexibility in ankles and 
toes, and of course are far cheaper than those of 
buckskin. A third pair for wet weather, the 
“ steel points ” aforesaid, are not absolutely 
necessary for the beginner's wardrobe, until 
he begins tournament play. Then their value 
will be found very great indeed, and the beginner 


20 FIRST STEPS TO LAWN TENNIS 


should get them early, practise in them and so 
become accustomed to the peculiar holding 
quality he will find they possess when he wears 
them for the first time. It is of the greatest 
importance to have the “ steel points ” made to 
measure and of a good fit. 

The rest of the player's wardrobe, though less 
important from the point of view of the play, 
is no less worthy of careful selection from the 
consideration of health and fitness generally. 
It is now universally agreed that white flannel is 
the best material for trousers, since it is more 
absorbent, warmer, and does not require so much 
careful laundry work as the white duck material, 
which is still used by a few players. The shirt 
is usually of light cotton material, and should 
therefore be changed immediately after play, 
to avoid chills. A sweater of the coat type to 
button down the front and with long sleeves is 
a necessity in the climate of this country, and, 
with his racket, should accompany the player 
wherever he goes. A belt of leather, or elastic 
webbing if obtainable, is better than a silk scarf 
for the waist; a woolly wrap-scarf for the neck 
after playing should also be worn by every 
player in an English tournament. 


CHOICE OF SHOES AND CLOTHES 21 

His socks should be of medium thickness and 
of a woolly mixture. The writer during the 
greater part of his tennis career has endeavoured 
in vain to find white socks that will not shrink 
after washing. Otherwise those of khaki colour 
are very useful, will not shrink, and look at 
any rate better than those of alternative 
shades. 

Finally, if the player can wear a covering on 
his head without discomfort or inconvenience 
during play, a light-coloured felt Homburg hat 
is a very great advantage, since the sun nearly 
always finds the player most unprepared who 
is least able to withstand his light. Opponents 
soon find out weaknesses of this kind; and, 
after all, the use and habit of wearing a hat in 
play is valuable, since on hard courts abroad, or 
on grass in Australia, an uncovered head too 
often means a sunstroke which the wearing of 
a hat would always prevent. 


22 FIRST STEPS TO LAWN TENNIS 


ANALYSIS OF THE PRIMARY STROKES 
OF LAWN TENNIS 

In the game of Lawn Tennis there are practi¬ 
cally only three primary strokes, upon which 
the others are founded. The rules and methods 
governing the production of these strokes are 
fundamental, and apply in a more or less 
modified degree to them all. Thus the beginner 
should first of all understand the principles 
which affect the production of these strokes ; 
then he will be better able to appreciate their 
value, and the part they play, in the other more 
difficult shots he afterwards attempts. 

Finally, he will obtain, in this way, a good 
grounding in the first principles of the general 
strokes of the game, which will help him very 
considerably in his more mature efforts later on. 

Every stroke in the game of Lawn Tennis 
(as of golf) can be divided into three separate 
and distinct actions, which should be in practice, 
however, so harmoniously blended into one 
movement that no single one should appear more 
conspicuous than the other. 

1. The first movement, or the preparatory 


ANALYSIS OF PRIMARY STROKES 23 


part of the stroke, is the swing back of the 
racket. 

2. The second movement, or the working part 
of the stroke, is the forward swing of the racket, 
to meet the ball, and the blow itself. 

3. The third, or the finishing part of the 
stroke, is the end of the racket's swing after it 
has met the ball; this controls the balance of 
the striker and regulates the power and strength 
of the shot. 

Upon the first of these depends the accuracy 
of the second and the correct production of the 
third. The third, again, has a considerable 
power of affecting the second, in proportion to 
the amount of attention that is paid to it. 

Thus all these movements are interdependent 
and affect one another to a considerable extent. 
Upon the manner in which they work depends 
the success of the whole series of which the 
stroke as a whole is comprised. 

Now any golfer will tell you, and treat the 
thing as a truism, that the swing back of the club 
regulates the length of the shot. Very few 
Lawn Tennis players have applied this to their 
own game, consciously at least, and are not 
aware that the racket's backward swing should 


24 FIKST STEPS TO LAWN TENNIS 


be long or short as the stroke intended is to be 
deep or short. Neglect of this fairly obvious 
fact is one of the most frequent causes of mis¬ 
timing, loss of power, and “ snatching ''—that 
complaint of the beginner, whose eagerness to 
hit the ball hurries the backward swing into the 
actual stroke itself and ruins the timing of the 
shot. 

Again, upon the unimpeded finish of the 
racket's swing after the ball has been hit depends 
the power of the stroke and the balance of the 
player's body, as well as the smooth production 
of the stroke without jerk or check. 

And once more, as with the golf club, this 
free follow through of the racket after the ball 
has been struck has a kind of retrospective 
value on the stroke itself. For as a general 
rule, when the follow through is freely made 
the player's balance is sustained, and the stroke 
then gets every single atom of value from the 
swing of the racket and the transference of 
the player's body weight from one foot to 
the other. 

Piay the shot with a checked follow through 
and the tightening up of the muscles that will 
nearly always precede this fault—if it is not a 
























































Graflex 

2. Position to Receive Service 

Note left hand supporting the head of the [racket to ease 
racket arm, and allow of quick change of grip for fore, or back¬ 
hand, stroke. A half turn to the right of the right foot with the 
left foot moved round and forward will enable the player to get 
into the position for the forehand stroke ; and a half turn to the 
left of the left foot and the right foot moved round and forward, 
the position for the backhand stroke. 


FOOTWOEK 25 

reason for it—will cause the ball to be mistimed 
and the stroke spoiled. 

Thus, if beginners would appreciate the fact 
that each of these three actions, that comprise 
the stroke, has its value in the whole movement, 
they would give more care to them severally and 
successively, and so be enabled to make each 
shot as perfectly as their skill and capacity to 
put them into practioe will permit. 

Footwork 

Is a term capable of a double interpretation, 
one general and the other special. It can be 
defined in its general sense as the manner in 
which the player makes use of his speed of foot 
and in getting to the ball. In its special sense 
it is the way in which he uses his feet to distribute 
the weight of his body in the course of making 
the stroke. It is the most important factor 
towards the formation of a good style, and 
should obtain the greatest attention of the 
beginner. At Lawn Tennis, as at cricket, golf, 
and boxing, the manner in which the weight of 
the body is used will be found to be of the 
utmost value in giving power and smoothness 


26 FIRST STEPS TO LAWN TENNIS 


of movement to every stroke. The position of 
the feet, upon which depends the correct dis¬ 
tribution of the body weight, must be studied 
as early as possible by the beginner, so that 
after the correct stance for the various strokes 
has been acquired, first of all consciously, it 
may become later quite naturally a procedure 
of “ second nature 99 in the production of all his 
strokes. 

For a correct stance is not a natural thing at 
all, since the game is not played, as cricket and 
golf, from a stationary position, and a human 
being cannot move fast sideways like a crab. 
Therefore the player must learn to put himself 
into the sideways position to the direction of 
the ball’s flight, with his feet more or less 
parallel to it, and his shoulders at right angles 
to the net, when he shapes to make all his 
ground strokes. (The same rule holds good 
for his stance for volleying; but as sufficient 
time may be lacking in this type of stroke, 
the rigour of the rule must of necessity be 
relaxed in many instances.) And this stance 
is obtained as early as possible by the player’s 
speed of foot and judgment, which have enabled 
him first of all to estimate the spot where he can 


THE GRIP 


27 


best meet the ball, and then to get there in time 
to make the stroke correctly. With these 
points before him, with regard to the dual 
meaning of footwork, the learner can now pro¬ 
ceed to the actual production of the various 
strokes themselves. 

The Grip 

The manner in which the player should hold 
his racket when he first begins to play Lawn 
Tennis is most important. 

Upon the method he choses will depend the 
type of stroke that he will produce, and this in 
turn will affect his stance and footwork through¬ 
out the rest of his game. 

Thus it is most important for the player, before 
everything, to decide what “ grip ” he will adopt. 

In this he should be guided by physical con¬ 
siderations, as well as by natural tendencies. If, 
for example, he has a specially strong wrist or 
forearm, or has played other games which may 
give him a tendency to make the strokes at 
Lawn Tennis in a certain manner, he should be 
advised to allow for these factors in adopting a 
hold. For, other things being equal, the grip 
which is natural to a player will without doubt 


28 FIRST STEPS TO LAWN TENNIS 


be the best for his game in the long run, even if 
it may preclude him, through its limitations, 
from ever becoming a champion. Thus let him 
adopt a grip that is most comfortable, and 
natural, and best suited to his strength. The 
golden rule is that there is no arbitrary rule 
to be followed in this respect. 

In order to produce correctly the two of the 
three primary strokes of the game, the forehand 
and backhand shots, the player will have to 
employ a different hold of his racket for each 
stroke, since an unchanged grip which is adapted 
for the best strokes on both wings is a practical 
impossibility. 

The late R. F. Doherty, who had a most 
perfectly produced backhand stroke, used the 
backhand grip for both strokes, and consequently 
lost in power and speed on the forehand shot 
what he gained on all the shots made on the 
other wing. 

Forehand Grip 

The player should grasp the handle of the 
racket so that it lies along the hand diagonally, 
and not straight across the palm, with the handle 




















































































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FOREHAND GRIP 29 

more in the same straight line with the forearm 
than at right angles to it. The player's arm 
should not be completely extended (the elbow 
joint being allowed to remain slightly bent) 
when the stroke is made. The head of the racket 
should, speaking generally, be parallel with the 
ground, but may be supported slightly above 
the hand by tightening the wrist, which should 
always remain tense and never be relaxed. 

The forefinger of the hand should be separated 
from the other fingers in the hold of the handle, 
since thereby a more comfortable, firm grip 
is obtained. This will enable the racket to be 
held without that stiffening of the wrist which 
too close and tight a grasp of the handle always 
produces. 

The thumb should lie across the handle, and 
not tightly round it, since by this latter hold 
the wrist is also stiffened, and thereby loses its 
flexibility. The player with such a grip will 
be able to impart top spin to all his strokes 
without being compelled to turn over the head 
of the racket to any appreciable extent in their 
production. He will be able also to meet the 
ball with the full face of the racket with neither 
top nor cut, and so to get the utmost speed from 


30 FIRST STEPS TO LAWN TENNIS 


the shot. And, if necessary, he will be able to 
take fast services on the rise with more control, 
and certainty, than he could by employing a 
grip with a more “ open ” face (i.e. face slanting 
away from the ball) to his racket. Such a hold 
is more generally useful than any other, since 
with it the player can employ top spin, cut, or 
full-faced shots without any turning of the wrist; 
he can take rising balls with more certainty, and 
is enabled generally to obtain great control in 
making all his strokes. 

FOREHAND STROKE 

For this stroke as much care should be taken 
by the player over his footwork as for the shot 
more awkward to produce on the other side of 
the body, viz. the backhand. But as the former 
has suffered from being insufficiently studied, 
so the latter has turned out too often a failure 
from being half attempted. Thus beginners 
generally are too confident in the one case, and 
too diffident in the other, and end by failing to 
play either of the strokes with any degree of 
accuracy. Footwork must again play a large 
part in the correct production of this stroke, 










Graft ex 

5. Forehand Stroke. Beginning of Swing 

Note full swing back of the racket with the wrist kept down 
and controlled ; body turned sideways to the base line to allow 
the fright shoulder to have effect in the swing of the arm ; 
weight on foot furthest from the net, ready to be transferred to 
front foot as the stroke is completed. 



FOREHAND STROKE 


31 


since the body's weight (as at golf again) must 
be used, and transferred from one foot to the 
other in the course of the stroke, in order to 
obtain added power which the smoothness and' 
rhythm of the whole movement will give. 

To produoe correctly the stroke the player 
should turn his body sideways to the net, with 
the feet apart and parallel to the base-line. The 
weight of the body should remain as much as 
possible on the right foot (for a right-handed 
player), until the stroke is half completed, when 
it should begin to be transferred to the left (front) 
foot as the racket strikes the ball, and be entirely 
shifted on to the front foot as it finishes the 
stroke and swings round in the course of the 
follow through, which should cause it to finish 
its swing near the left shoulder. The right (or 
back) foot may be lifted from the ground as 
soon as, but never before, the ball has been 
struck. This will be found to give a more com¬ 
plete follow through to the stroke, and in addition 
to help the player's mobility and prevent him 
from remaining planted on the court after the 
stroke has been made. The ball should be taken 
as high as possible and when it is at a point 
about the middle of the player's body. 


32 FIRST STEPS TO LAWN TENNIS 


By means of the backward swing of the racket 
the speed and smoothness of the stroke are 
obtained, by the length of the backward swing 
its power. The head of the racket from the 
beginning of the forward stroke should be swung 
as much as possible parallel with the ground. 
If, however, extra control is desired—for example 
in shots directed down the side-line from the 
player’s forehand court—the head of the racket 
may be supported above the wrist, which must 
always be kept quite firm and tense. The face 
of the racket should meet the ball almost full, 
a little slanted forward towards the line of the 
ball’s flight, if desired, as the stroke is made, 
to give top spin to the ball. The follow through 
should be full and unchecked. 

To ensure this and to avoid straining the 
muscles of the forearm, as the racket is swept 
round, turn the wrist over and with it the head 
of the racket just after the ball is struck. Other¬ 
wise the wrist throughout the stroke should be 
kept very firm and tense without the smallest 
suspicion of “ flabbiness,” or relaxation in the 
swing back, or forward, or as the ball is struck. 

All the strokes should be made as far from 
the body as possible, but the elbow joint should 






































































































































































































































































































































































































































> * 































































































































































































Graflcx 

6 . Forehand Stroke. Halfway through Swing 


The forearm is quite firm and the wrist tense, with the head 
of the racket supported above it. 

The weight ot the body has just left the right, and is on the 
left foot, as the shoulder is coming round to complete the follow 
through outside the left arm. 















































































































































































































































































Graflcx 

7. Forehand Stroke. Finish of Swing 


The position is quite correct; the stroke has had all the value 
of the rotation of the shoulders, swing and full follow through 
of the racket. The weight of the body has been transferred as 
well from the right to the left foot in the course of the stroke’s 
finish. Note racket turned over at very end of the swing to 
ease the muscles of the forearm. 




DIFFICULTIES OF STROKE 


33 


never be quite straightened out, nor the balance 
lost by leaning too far forward to meet the ball, 
since the body weight should be put into the 
stroke by transferring it from one foot to the 
other in the course of the shot. 

Chief Difficulties of the Stroke for Beginners 

This stroke should not present any very great 
difficulties to the beginner, if he has first of all 
learned to put himself into the sideways position 
to the net, and to swing his racket at the ball 
instead of merely hitting it. His chief faults 
will be caused by over-confidence rather than 
by diffidence. He will probably find that he 
wants to take the ball much too close to his 
body; that he is allowing his wrist to become 
slack, and the head of the racket to fall below 
the level of his hand, as he hits the ball; that he 
is neglecting to use the other shoulder for turning 
his body to get power into the racket's swing; 
and last of all, that he has kept his weight on 
both feet and is probably not using it in the 
direction of the stroke but away from it. 

Forehand Stroke down the Line 

The method of making the shot down the line 

3 


34 FIRST STEPS TO LAWN TENNIS 


differs from the usual, or cross-court, stroke in 
two details—the position of the feet, upon which 
depends the use of the body weight, and, since 
less body swing is required, a more restrained 
use of the left (or unemployed shoulder) in help¬ 
ing to turn the body for the stroke. 

The body should be in the sideways position 
to the net, with the feet similarly placed as for 
the other shot, except that the front foot should 
be thrown nearer the line of the ball's flight 
than the back foot; both should be at right 
angles to the flight of the ball, which for this 
shot down the line should be hit a little later, 
at a point past the centre of the player's body. 
The body should not be allowed to turn so much 
after the racket has made the stroke, and finished 
its swing, as in the case of the cross-court shot, 
since the racket should follow along the direction 
in which the ball has been struck in all shots 
where follow through is used. In the latter case 
the racket must leave the line of the ball's flight 
sooner than in the stroke across the body, since 
in this former stroke the sweep of the racket 
goes round the body in a more circular plane than 
in the latter, when it should finish high up and 
above the player's head. The wrist should be 



Graf! ex 

8 . Forehand Stroke across Court. Beginning of 
Forward Swing of the Racket 


Note the firm wrist, and head of the racket supported above 
it. The weight of the body is on the back foot; the position of 
the body is tense, with the feet correctly placed for the shot 
which will be directed across the body to the opponent’s fore¬ 
hand court. 













Note good use of body weight, as evidenced by the turned 
shoulders, and transference ot weight (from right to left foot as 
the racket arm has come round in its swing. 

The wrist has been turned over at end of the follow through 
to ease the muscles of the forearm. N.B.—The wrist is quite 
firm and the whole of the arm quite straight during the swing 
^nd its finish. 


Graflex 

9. Forehand Stroke across Court. Finish of 
Follow Through of the Racket 











DIFFICULTIES AND REMEDIES 35 


even more tense and firm than for the cross¬ 
court shot, since control and accuracy are most 
important. 

Thus the left shoulder will be used less defi¬ 
nitely, and the body not turned at the hips so 
freely at the finish of the swing. This stroke 
should be made when the ball is at the top of its 
bound, but with more of a pushing action from 
the forearm, in order to direct the ball more away 
from, than across, the body. The racket should 
finish its follow through above the player's head 
rather than round his shoulder as in the cross¬ 
court shot. 

Difficulties and Remedies. 

At first the beginner will find this shot easier 
than the other ; but when he has learned to use 
his left shoulder in the swing of the racket, and 
lost the tendency to hit instead of swing at the 
ball, this shot will be far more difficult for him 
to play correctly. He must remember that the 
front foot should be placed rather nearer to the 
line of the ball's flight than the back foot, that 
the ball should be taken later, and struck with 
a more restrained swing, than in the stroke 


36 FIRST STEPS TO LAWN TENNIS 


across his body. The correct position of the 
feet and the pushing action of the forearm are 
the distinguishing characteristics of the stroke. 
The ball should always be struck as far away from 
the player's body as is possible, without loss of 
balance and completely straightening the arm, 
which should always be slightly bent at the 
elbow. 

The beginner's chief difficulties will be found 
to be a tendency to take the ball too low, and 
then to cut it; to play the shot with his body 
square to the net, and so to lose his balance, 
and put his weight, not in a forward direction 
towards the line of the ball's flight, but away 
from it with a backward inclination of his body, 
thus causing loss of power and mistiming. 

He must always remember that the temptation 
to relax his wrist, and so allow the head of his 
racket to fall below the level of his hand, is 
the most common fault to which beginners are 
liable, and so must be avoided beyond all others. 
The neglect of this point causes many faults, 
and ruins the value of the stroke completely, 
since the ball cannot be struck at a correct 
distance away from the player's body ; the slack 
wrist causes loss of control; the swing is spoiled, 



Note position of the front foot, which has been placed more across the 
line of the ball’s flight than for the cross-court shot. Also the swing 
is not quite similar in other respects, since the forearm is used more 
with a pushing action, and the follow through finishes above the 
player’s head. The ball in this photograph will travel in a direction 
at right angles to the player’s body. Note firm wrist and body weight 
transferred from right to left foot as the ball is leaving the racket. 


Grctflex 

io. Forehand Stroke down the Line 










BACKHAND STROKE 37 

since no longer can the player feel that his racket 
is a part of his arm, as in fact it becomes with 
the wrist muscles tense, and so have the control 
that results therefrom. 

BACKHAND STROKE 

This stroke is to the beginner the most diffi¬ 
cult, because more complex, the most unnatural, 
because more awkward, of all the shots of the 
game. To the player who has mastered certain 
peculiarities of grip of the racket, correct position 
of the feet, and use of the body in making the 
swing by means of which the power of the stroke 
is obtained, the shot becomes as easy and delight¬ 
ful of execution as before it appeared complicated 
and full of difficulties. Thus the reason for the 
beginner's lack of success at it may probably 
be found in the diffidence with which he 
approaches it, since, unlike its counterpart on 
the other wing, its difficulties are very apparent 
and have to be faced from the very beginning. 

The Grip 

The first difficulty will be found in acquiring 
the correct grip for the stroke. The beginner 


38 FIRST STEPS TO LAWN TENNIS 


must remember that for this stroke his wrist 
and elbow joint will be employed in a different 
manner than for the forehand shot. 

This difference of movement will affect the 
position of the hand in the manner in which 
the racket is held, and the style in which the 
stroke is produced. Thus the two grips differ 
less as to the “ holds ” themselves than as to 
the methods with which each is employed. 

The correct method of grip for the backhand 
shot is exactly similar to the way a lady holds 
up her hand-glass before her face. 

Hold the racket up in this manner, and imagine 
yourself looking straight through the strings. 

If the racket has been picked up in the manner 
described, the handle will be found to be lying 
diagonally across the hand, from the first joint 
of the forefinger to the pad of the hand. 

The thumb, which may be placed across, or lie 
along, the handle, holds it in position by pressing 
it against the fingers, which also grasp it, and 
the pad of the hand. 

The forefinger should now be allowed to 
separate slightly from the others, to allow the 
handle to rest in its bent second joint. This 
will be found to allow of more flexibility of wrist 




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THE GEIP 


39 


movement than if this finger was held rigidly 
closed round the handle, the lower end of which 
at the butt should press against a spot in the 
pad of the hand, about midway between the 
wrist and the base of the little finger. 

The chief hold on the handle is exercised by 
the thumb and the bent forefinger, while the 
other fingers are used more as controlling than 
holding agents. The thumb's pressure, which is 
exerted along (or across) the handle, keeps and 
holds it against the forefinger, keeps the handle 
firmly held, and at the same time allows of the 
greatest freedom of wrist, owing to the easy 
nature of the grasp by the rest of the fingers. 

If the thumb is placed along the handle some 
flexibility of wrist may be lost; but as security 
and control of the racket are most important in 
the production of this stroke, a certain amount 
of freedom can be sacrificed in order to obtain 
them. And the thumb along, rather than across, 
the handle means greater accuracy for that very 
reason. 

N.B.—Never allow the butt of the handle to 
rest in the palm, of the hand. This grip entirely 
prevents the racket and arm from becoming one, 
as it were, which is the main advantage of the 


40 FIRST STEPS TO LAWN TENNIS 


grip described above; it destroys entirely 
accuracy and control even with players with the 
strongest wrists ; and in every case, with one 
exception, is entirely unsuited for volleying. 

So the beginner is more than strongly advised 
to have nothing to do with this method of holding 
the racket, called the “ long hold.” 

The Stroke 

In learning this stroke the beginner should 
remember that correct footwork, in this case 
preparatory footwork, and body swing play a 
far larger part in its success than is the case with 
the shot on the other side of the body. Since 
the elbow joint and wrist cannot be so freely 
used for shots made across the body, the stroke 
must rely for its timing upon the player's foot¬ 
work (in the use of the feet in transferring the 
weight of the body while the stroke is being 
produced), and for its speed and smoothness of 
movement upon his ability to use to the best 
advantage the weight of his body as the ball is 
struck. 

The beginner should turn his body in the side¬ 
ways position to the net, with his feet comfortably 
apart, and parallel to it. 






Graflcx 

13. Backhand Stroke. Swing Back of the 
Racket 

The swing is a little shorter than usual, and the shoulders 
are not doing very much towards giving power to the shot. 
Note firm wrist, kept well down, and the head of the racket, as 
a result, supported above the hand. Weight on ball of left foot, 
and shoulders level. 






THE STROKE 


41 


The backward swing of the racket should be 
as flat and parallel with the ground as possible; 
the forward swing should be made along the same 
path, and in an exactly similar manner in order 
to meet the ball, which should be hit at a slightly 
lower point (since control of high-bounding balls 
is difficult on this wing) than for the forehand 
stroke—namely, at a point a little below the 
line of the waist, and opposite to the middle of 
the player's body. 

The ball should be taken as far away from the 
player's body as is comfortable without loss of 
balance or the complete straightening of the 
elbow joint—both of which faults result in loss 
of power and spoil the speed of the stroke. 

As the racket goes back for the backward 
swing, the player's weight should be upon his 
back foot, from which it should be transferred as 
the racket comes forward and makes the stroke, 
completely passing on to the front foot as the 
racket completes the follow through at the finish. 

The left shoulder will be found to be of great 
use in helping to turn the player's body as he 
makes this shot, since most of the power of the 
stroke is obtained by this rotary movement 
from the hips, and the right shoulder alone is not 


42 FIRST STEPS TO LAWN TENNIS 


so powerful as the two together. The beginner 
should always remember to allow the racket to 
follow through freely at the end of the stroke. 
It will be found to finish well out above his right 
shoulder in the stroke across the court, and 
rather higher above his head for the shot down 
the line. The player should also allow his left 
foot to leave the ground as soon as the stroke 
is completed, in order to encourage still further 
the follow through of the racket. By this means 
he will be enabled to turn his body more easily 
at the end of the stroke, and follow up the shot 
to the net immediately it has been completed. 
At the beginning of the stroke the left shoulder, 
head, and right shoulder should be in the same 
straight line. 

The beginner should note that his wrist should 
be kept absolutely tense and braced as the ball 
is struck, and by the flexing of the muscles the 
head of the racket should be supported just 
above the hand to obtain accuracy and control 
in the stroke. 

THE SERVICE 

The majority of Lawn Tennis players in Eng¬ 
land of the past generation had been accustomed 



The wrist is quite firm, and the head of the racket kept in the 
horizontal, as it swings outward, and round. The body weight 
has just been transferred from the left to right foot; but the 
shoulders have not done much to give power to the shot. 


Graflex 

14. Backhand Stroke. Halfway through the 
Stroke 








. 















. 












THE SERVICE 


43 


to bring far too little imagination or originality 
into their methods of playing the game. This 
fact was especially noticeable in the neglect by 
so many of the first-class players of that period 
of the possibilities of spin and swerve in the 
service. So that when H. Ward and Dwight 
Davis first introduced their kicking service, 
at that time an absolutely unknown thing, 
to our best players, it found them all, with the 
exception of the Doherty brothers, entirely 
unprepared, and unable to deal with it. Next 
Dr. Eaves, and N. E. Brookes in Australia, 
further modified and adapted this service, by 
adding more pace with a lessened kick. Once 
more the English players were defeated 
through inability to find a counter to this 
changed attack. 

Thus the English player, whose power of 
imitation appears to have been more marked 
than his inventive genius, applied himself either 
to the mastery of one straightforward delivery, 
which was fast or slow, swerving or straight, 
according to his physique or temperament. In 
hardly any instance was spin or break em¬ 
ployed of design in relation to the opponent's 
weaknesses, so much so that the whole thing 


44 FIEST STEPS TO LAWN TENNIS 


appeared to be rather a means of merely starting 
the game than a very valuable weapon for con¬ 
trolling it. Now the beginner, with this history of 
mediocrity before his eyes, should not be tempted 
to try anything very enterprising at the start, 
but confine himself to learning a service well 
produced, and of a character best suited to his 
natural capabilities. After which he will be 
better able to appreciate the refinements at 
which his predecessors stopped short, when he 
has acquired a sound basis to work upon. The 
type of delivery that most generally answers to 
this description is the plain swerving service of 
good length and low bound, which will be found 
to be of great use for all overhead strokes em¬ 
ployed later on in the course of the game. Since 
it is a Lawn Tennis truism, “ as one serves, one 
smashes," the beginner should bear in mind all 
that has gone before with regard to the work 
done by the feet and shoulders towards the 
smooth production of the strokes. For upon 
the correct position of the feet and turning of the 
shoulders depends that transference of the weight 
from one foot to the other in the course of the 
stroke which gives power, control, and rhyth¬ 
mical smoothness to the whole movement. The 







Grafhw 


15. Service. Swing Back of Racket and Throw-up 

of Ball 

The ball has been thrown up rather high, and the body 
’appears to be bent too far back. The weight is on both feet 
and will be transferred as the ball is hit. The shoulders should 
be more level ; and the right heel should not have been lifted 
from the ground until the ball has been struck. 









THE SERVICE 


45 


player should hold his racket with a firm hold, 
as for the forehand stroke ; he should stand with 
his body turned sideways to the net, with his 
right foot parallel to the base-line and the left 
in a natural position a little way in front of it. 

The weight of the body should be upon the 
back foot at the beginning of the backward 
swing of the racket and the start of the stroke, 
and transferred to the front foot in the course 
of the stroke until it is completed. The right 
shoulder, from the original sideways position to 
the net, should turn still further, if possible, to 
allow the right arm to take back the racket in 
the course of the backward swing. The head 
and shoulders will then be in a straight line, and 
at right angles to the net just before the forward 
motion of the racket arm begins. This motion 
should be in a semicircular downward direction, 
after the racket has been swung up to the full 
extent of the server's arm, but without straighten¬ 
ing the elbow joint to meet the ball. 

The ball should be hit at a point above the 
right ear as conveniently high as possible with¬ 
out undue stretching of the server's arm, and 
with the wrist as flexible as possible without 
loosening the firmness of the grip. 


46 FIRST STEPS TO LAWN TENNIS 


As the racket begins to come round in its 
sweep, the body should be made to turn from the 
hips, by the help of the left (or unemployed) 
shoulder, which should at the end of the stroke 
be turned farther away from the net than the 
other in the course of the body's rotation. The 
beginner must remember this point in order to 
get power with smoothness into the stroke. 
He will also find that the balance of his body 
will be considerably assisted if he extends the 
left arm after it has thrown up the ball. 

The racket should finish the swing outside 
and just above the left knee in this type of 
service. The right foot, as in the forehand 
stroke, may now be lifted, and swung forward 
into the court after (but never before) the ball 
has been hit, and the weight of the body trans¬ 
ferred to the left. This will be found to help 
the follow through of the racket, and enable 
the server, if he desires to do so, to get in quickly 
to the net. The beginner must learn, if he is 
not a golfer, and should note if he is one, that 
the amount of pace imparted to all strokes 
depends upon the speed of the racket at the 
moment it meets the ball. Therefore all the 
more let him be careful, if he would accelerate 



Graflex 

16. Service. After the Ball has been Struck 

Note body weight has been transferred from right to left foot; 
the arm and wrist are quite firm ; the racket will finish its 
swing outside the player’s right knee in this type of delivery, 
but the shoulders have not been kept sufficiently level, which 
may spoil the accuracy of the stroke, 






























- 














« 






















Grn flex 

17. Service. Finish of the Follow Through 

In this type of delivery the racket finishes outside the player’s 
left knee. Note the rotation of the right shoulder, which has 
come right round with the arm, the transference of the body 
weight from the right to left foot, and the level shoulders. 






THE SERVICE 


47 


the quickness of the forward movement of his 
racket, to do so without jerkiness or unevenness 
of the swing, which must be smooth and rhyth¬ 
mical in order to deliver a true, hard blow. The 
whole stroke, like the overhead smash, gets its 
speed from the correct timing of the various 
movements of which it is made up. A great 
part of the actual power of the blow itself is 
obtained from the movement of straightening 
the elbow joint at the moment of hitting the 
ball (as in the action of throwing), some is derived 
from the correct distribution of the body weight, 
and the rest comes from the qualities of accurate 
timing and correct methods of making the 
stroke; in other words, good “ eye ” and good 
style. 

When he learns the overhead service, the 
beginner will find his greatest difficulty in the 
very first action he has to make in order to 
produce the shot, i.e. that of throwing up the 
ball. He should practise this with his left hand 
(as a juggler would) until he can throw up the 
ball with the same strength and in the same line 
as often as he likes. For upon the player's 
ability to do this with unfailing accuracy every 
time depends his ability to acquire a consistent 


48 FIRST STEPS TO LAWN TENNIS 


and powerful service. Inability to do this 
action correctly has been the most frequent 
cause of failure to make two services alike, since 
the ball to be hit does not arrive at the same 
height or place on two consecutive occasions. 

His next fault will probably come from not 
keeping his weight firmly on the back foot until 
the ball has been struck and the follow through 
of the racket begun. 

This will cause the right shoulder to droop 
and the body to sway as the racket comes forward 
in its swing. Both faults will spoil the stroke; 
but the swaying body is the more fatal to the 
player's chances of hitting the ball true. 

Another fault of which beginners are guilty is 
the habit of trying to hit the ball without the 
correct swing forwards to meet it. 

In no circumstances should the speed of the 
racket be increased with a jerk or uneven motion 
of the arm or wrist; but only by quickening 
the swing forward of the racket by smooth and 
even acceleration of the arm, which should be 
distributed all through the forward swing and 
reach its climax as the ball is struck. 


* * 



Graflex 


18. Service. A Different Position 



















SMASH 


49 


SMASH 

This stroke is one that the beginner will find 
as difficult as any in the game to play well, since 
the footwork that leads up to and prepares for 
the shot itself is the essential factor that makes 
for its success. This again depends upon the 
accuracy of the player's judgment, which can 
only be based upon experience and developed 
by practice. Thus the difficulties of the beginner 
can be understood in advance, but for all that 
they must not be allowed to deter him from 
learning the correct method of playing the 
stroke, which later on he can perfect by practice. 

As a rule one finds the best servers are not 
necessarily to be found among the best players 
of the overhead shots (although the converse is 
much more likely to be true); instead they are 
much more certain to be discovered among those 
players whose footwork is their strongest point. 
Quick-footed players move into position early 
for their strokes, and so make their shots as easy 
as possible by being ready for them in advance. 
This quality, which is possessed in the highest 
degree by all good volleyers, is displayed less 
4 


50 FIRST STEPS TO LAWN TENNIS 

in the making of difficult strokes from impossible 
positions than in making every shot as easy as 
possible by being in the best position to play it 
before it arrives. 

So it is safe to assume that a man who smashes 
well will serve well, since the latter stroke 
requires no preparatory footwork and is made 
from a stationary position behind the base-line. 

But for the smash all the difficulties experi¬ 
enced by the beginner in acquiring a service 
(with the exception of that of throwing up the 
ball) will have to be overcome, and in addition 
quickness of mind and foot will have to be 
learned as well. 

In all other respects the same rules apply for 
the smash as were laid down for the service ; and 
if the beginner has been successful in acquiring 
a good method for this latter stroke, he will 
find the overhead smash not more difficult to 
make when once he is in the position to produce it. 

Where he had to throw up the ball in the one 
case, he will in the other be called upon to make 
his own position under the ball to produce the 
stroke. Thus he will have to exercise his judg¬ 
ment to know how to place himself correctly 
for the shot, and by means of his quickness of 




Graflex 

19. Smash. Forehand 


Note the body weight appears to have been transferred from 
back to front foot at the correct moment. The wrist is quite 
firm and although the arm appears rather too straight, the ball 
has been timed well, and the balance generally is good. 










SMASH 51 

foot get to that place and then make the stroke 
correctly. 

The stroke must not be hurried, and should 
be made with the weight transferred correctly 
from the back to the front foot as the racket 
finishes the stroke. This can only be done if the 
player's position before the stroke has been 
begun is exactly correct. Otherwise the body 
weight can never be put into the stroke, which 
thereby loses in speed and power. 


Difficulties of the Stroke 

The beginner's chief difficulties will be found 
to arise from his failure to get into position early 
enough to make the stroke smoothly and without 
hurry. 

His inability to do this will cause him to take 
the ball in the wrong position, to hurry the swing 
of his racket, to lose his balance, or at any rate 
to fail to put any body swing into the stroke, 
and in general to make a mistimed, hurried 
shot. The beginner should not forget that he 
is apt to lose control of the ball when he 
runs in to make an overhead shot. He either 
overhits it into the net through too much 


52 FIRST STEPS TO LAWN TENNIS 


confidence, or drives it into the stop-netting 
through forgetting his own momentum as he 
runs in to hit it. 

All these faults, again, will tend to be accen¬ 
tuated by the climatic conditions of sun and 
wind, since the ball is naturally more affected 
by the latter the higher it is hit above the court, 
while the player himself is handicapped by the 
former when he has to make his strokes with a 
strong light full in his eyes. 

BACKHAND SMASH 

This stroke has fallen out of fashion of recent 
years amongst first-class players. One no longer 
sees the high lob or deep shot dealt with severely 
by a genuine backhand smash, as in the days 
of the late H. S. Mahony, H. L. Doherty of the 
older generation, or of M. Decaugis amongst 
modern players. 

It would appear that present-day players do 
not care to risk the stroke, and are content to 
get the ball back for a more favourable oppor¬ 
tunity to kill from an easier position. 

However, the stroke that now^ takes its place is 
at its worst a kind of defensive push volley, at 











Graft ex 

20. Backhand Stroke across the Court 


The ball has just been struck, and the racket is completing 
its swing with the help of the right shoulder. Note firm wrist 
and the racket head supported above the wrist. Weight ot 
body transferred from left to right foot. 










Note the finish of the stroke, which is high, and the rather 
more restrained swing round of the shoulders. Position of 
feet is correct. 


Graflex 

21. Backhand Stroke down the Line 


BACKHAND SMASH 53 

its best not a backhand stroke at all, although 
made on that side of the player s head. 

The stroke is a compromise borrowed from 
the sister game of Badminton. It is a cleverly 
produced shot made with the forehand move¬ 
ment of the racket and arm and considerable 
bend of the body, by means of which the ball is 
taken above the left side of the head, and hit 
with a sweeping action of the forearm round 
the head. 

The backhand stroke, however, pure and 
simple, is very useful, and, although difficult, 
should be learned by the beginner. 

Although players may be able by excessive 
agility to avoid its use, and so shirk its difficulties, 
they will sooner or later be caught by some well- 
placed lob or deep shot into their backhand 
court. Moreover, the cultivation of the stroke 
is helpful for making all volleys on the left side 
of the body, since it demands extremely careful 
footwork, free use of the arm and shoulders, and 
good body balance for its production. 

But the player must form his judgment 
quickly and act upon it at once, since the 
essential point for its success is quick preparatory 
footwork. 


54 FIRST STEPS TO LAWN TENNIS 


The Stroke 

To make the stroke correctly, the player 
should be in the sideways position of his body 
to the net, the feet should be parallel to it and 
comfortably separated. The ball should be hit 
at a point as high as possible (without entirely 
straightening the elbow) slightly in front of the 
body, and at a point in the air just outside an 
imaginary line drawn perpendicularly upwards 
from a point midway between the feet. The 
racket should be held in the backhand grip, and 
the thumb should always be placed straight 
down the handle to give control. The stroke 
should be made by means of the forearm, helped 
by the left shoulder, which should be used to 
turn the racket arm and shoulder, and make the 
body rotate slightly at the hips, in order to help 
the swing. The wrist should be very firm and 
locked as the racket meets the ball, since if it is 
allowed to turn over on the ball as the stroke 
is taking place (unless the smash is being made 
very close to the net) the ball will be smothered 
and the stroke spoiled. The power in the stroke 
is derived from accurate timing, free use of the 
arm and shoulder, body swing, and the pushing 



Graflex 

22. Backhand Smash 

Note the firm wrist, and forearm thrust forward a little in 
advance of the racket to give control, and prevent the ball from 
being smothered into the bottom of the net by the head coming 
through too soon. The sideways' position of the body is 
correct, and the weight should be all on the left foot until the 
ball is struck. 






DIFFICULTIES OF THE BEGINNER 55 


power of the forearm, which forces the racket 
forward into the stroke. 

Difficulties of the Beginner 

These will lie first in the production of the 
stroke, which he will find awkward to make 
across his body. He will probably forget to 
throw his arm well out from his side (on no 
account allow the elbow to touch the side as the 
shot is made); allow his wrist to turn over with 
the racket and so smother the ball; omit to 
use his body weight, or swing at the ball, but try 
merely to hit it without any back swing of the 
racket. 

But most of his trouble will probably arise 
from not being in position first of all to make 
the stroke in the correct way. The shot is 
bound to fail if the preparatory footwork has 
not enabled the beginner to get the most favour¬ 
able position for the movements described, and 
he is therefore compelled to play the stroke 
without observing any or all of them. 

THE VOLLEY 

This stroke of all others is the most attractive 
in execution and quick in its results. Since the 


56 FIRST STEPS TO LAWN TENNIS 


making of it is as pleasing as its success, if well 
made, is instantaneous. It appeals more directly 
to the artist at the game, as well as to all players 
whose temperament inclines them to quick results 
rather than to protracted endings. As an artistic 
method of giving the coup de grace to an oppo¬ 
nent's stroke it is unequalled. Moreover, it is a 
most effective way to clinch an advantage worked 
for by the more plodding, and less showy, work 
of the ground strokes that have preceded it. 
Its attractiveness is great, but the beginner 
must not be tempted to use it at all times and 
on all occasions, since it can be, to the player 
who has not acquired sound ground strokes, “ a 
good friend, but a bad master." There are three 
ordinary varieties of this stroke, forehand and 
backhand, in the high and low volley, and the over¬ 
head shot. The overhead volley has been dealt 
with under the smash, so we need not mention 
it further, except to lay stress once again upon 
the value of the preparatory footwork, and upon 
attention to the grip, which must be changed 
for the strokes on either wing, and above all 
upon the accurate use of the wrist, which must 
be braced, as in all volleys, to meet the impact 
of the racket and ball. 



4 



Graflex 

23. Forehand Volley. Low Ball 


Note head ot the racket supported on a level with thewrist, 
which is tense and braced to take the shock of the ball.* Feet 
are firm on the ground, and the right knee is ver3 T slightly bent 
to allow the player to get down to the low shots. 






FOREHAND VOLLEY 


57 


Forehand Volley 

For this stroke the player's position is the 
key-note to success. The player can make all 
the strokes of the game more or less easy by 
attention to his position in the court at the time 
of playing the ball. For these strokes there is 
one, and only one, place in the court from which 
the player can best make the shot—the success 
of which the beginner should remember will 
vary directly, in all cases, with the player's 
proximity to the net, since the essence of all 
good volleying is to hit the ball down, rather 
than up over the net, whenever he can. More¬ 
over, since the ball is met nearer to the net, and 
sooner after the opponent has hit it, the player 
will be compelled to employ greater judgment 
and a power of anticipation in order to gauge 
the probable direction of the ball, and thus get 
the best position for making the stroke. 

The stroke is made with the body in the side¬ 
ways position to the net, with the feet com¬ 
fortably apart, and the weight, which is hardly 
ever used in the stroke, equally distributed 
between them. The grip of the racket should 
be as for the forehand shot, and the wrist must 


58 FIRST STEPS TO LAWN TENNIS 


never be slack, nor the racket loosely held, since 
in the former case the impact of the racket and 
ball cannot be met correctly, and in the latter 
the racket will turn in the hand and a mis-hit 
shot will result. Therefore grip the handle firmly, 
but not rigidly, and keep the head of the racket 
supported above the wrist, by flexing the wrist 
muscles, in order to gain more control in the 
stroke. The shot itself must be made without 
any swing of the racket, which should gain its 
power from the pushing action of the forearm and 
wrist (which must always be locked for all 
volleys), its accuracy from the supported head 
of the racket, and its speed from the pace of the 
ball as it comes to the player's racket. 

Again let the beginner be careful to keep his 
wrist tense and firm as the racket meets the ball, 
which, should be met with the full face of the 
racket, whenever possible, and controlled by a 
slight drawing action of the racket in a down¬ 
ward direction, and across the line of the ball's 
flight, at the moment the ball is hit. 

Of course for low volleys it will be necessary 
to slope the face of the racket away from the 
line of the ball's flight, in order to lift it over the 
net, but the ball should be struck in the same 



Graflcx 

24. Forehand Volley 


The forearm is very tense and the wrist braced to receive 
the shock of the ball, which has just been struck. 

Note very firm wrist and head of the racket horizontal. 









DIFFICULTIES OF THE BEGINNER 59 


manner in each case in making the actual shot, 
at whatever elevation it may be necessary to 
hit it. 

Difficulties of the Beginner 

The beginner will probably feel tempted to 
play the shot with his body square to the net; 
this is bad because although the incorrect posi¬ 
tion does not completely spoil the stroke itself, 
its field of direction is greatly narrowed by the 
impossibility of hitting the ball in any but a 
forward direction unless the player's body is 
turned sideways for the stroke. He will be 
tempted to swing at the ball, and lose control; 
he will forget to keep the head of the racket up 
above the wrist, and so lose accuracy; he will 
allow his wrist to be slack ; and if he has played 
much squash rackets will hold the racket too 
loosely for all his shots; and finally take his 
volleys too close to his body. 

BACKHAND VOLLEY 

The backhand volley is at once easier and more 
difficult than its counterpart on the forehand 
side. It is easier to make, when once the player 


60 FIRST STEPS TO LAWN TENNIS 

has got into position for the stroke, because the 
wrist and arm are more firmly and easily con¬ 
trolled for the backhand shots than for those on 
the other side. It is more difficult, because the 
preparatory footwork to gain this correct volley¬ 
ing position demands much more attention, and 
is far more difficult to acquire without much 
practice and experience. 

The sideways position of the player's body 
to the net must always be obtained, otherwise 
the player will have to make the stroke with his 
arm extended across his body, and thereby lose 
in reach and freedom of movement. To neglect 
this point is bad for the ground strokes, but 
fatal for those in the air, since speed and direction 
will be lost, even if the stroke is possible to 
produce at all. 


The Stroke 

To make the stroke the player should be in 
the sideways position to the net, with his feet 
comfortably apart, and his weight equally dis¬ 
tributed between them. The racket should 
not swing back, nor follow through when the 
stroke is completed, nor is the weight of the 


THE STROKE 


61 


body put into the stroke, which obtains its 
power through the pushing action of the forearm 
and elbow, its control through the agency of 
the locked wrist and the head of the racket 
supported above the hand, and its speed (as in 
all volleys) from the pace of the ball as it arrives 
from the opponent’s racket. 

The racket arm should not be fully extended, 
and the wrist must be tense and braced to take 
up the impact of the racket as it meets the ball. 

In addition the player’s wrist should never 
turn the racket over on the ball in the course 
of the stroke, since all volleys should be struck 
as much as possible with the full face of the 
racket, with the head supported a little above 
the wrist, in order to give better control. The 
racket should be held in the ordinary backhand 
grip with the thumb placed down the handle ; 
this will be found to help control the head 
of the racket, and give that stability to the 
stroke which makes the backhand volley more 
reliable, when correctly produced, than that on 
the other side of the body. 

The beginner should always remember that 
all volleys, with one exception, should be played 
with very little take back, and follow through, 


62 FIRST STEPS TO LAWN TENNIS 


of the racket. The stroke should be made 
rather by means of a pushing motion of the 
forearm and racket, which is, at the moment 
the ball is struck, kept perfectly firm, and 
should meet the ball full face. 

The one exception is* the drive volley, which 
is treated exactly like the stroke off the ground, 
as far as footwork, back swing, and follow through 
are concerned. The one thing to be noted in 
this stroke is never to spare the shot, but to hit 
it hard, and follow right through with the racket 
afterwards. 

Difficulties in Making the Shot 

The beginner will find many difficulties in this 
shot, some of which will be caused by an in¬ 
correct position on the court when he attempts 
the stroke. 

For no other stroke of the game is position 
so important as for the volleys. By obtaining a 
good volleying position, a point four or five 
feet from the net, the beginner can make nearly 
every volley, except the shots attempted from 
the fastest and lowest drives, at least 40 per 
cent, easier, since he will be far better placed for 


DIFFICULTIES IN MAKING THE SHOT 63 


hitting down into his opponent's court than if 
he were farther back in his own. Note : all 
volleys should be hit down or flat, never upwards 
unless it is impossible to avoid having to do so. 

Again, the beginner will find himself very often 
producing the stroke without bending the knees, 
especially in making his low volleys; he will 
also discover how much more difficult it is to 
volley on this side of his body, unless he makes 
a point of always getting into the sideways 
position before he makes the stroke. And 
finally, unless he keeps his wrist very firmly 
braced when the racket meets the ball, he will 
either mis-hit or mistime it, and it will drop in 
a lifeless manner off his racket, 

HALF-VOLLEY 

The half-volley is a stroke which no player 
should be encouraged to attempt until his foot¬ 
work is perfectly sound and his method of play¬ 
ing the game cannot be corrupted by bad habits. 
Therefore the stroke should not come under the 
category of shots for learners of the game, since 
the process of acquiring it may do more harm 
than good. It may be defined in its narrowest 


64 FIRST STEPS TO LAWN TENNIS 


meaning as a stroke between a volley and a 
ground shot; since the player hits the ball 
before he has obtained a second sight of it, and 
after it has bounced. He makes the shot there¬ 
fore rather at the place where he thinks the ball 
will be, rather than at the ball itself. This 
stroke may take place early, or late, immediately 
after the ball has pitched, or quite late on its 
rise; the essential characteristic of the stroke 
is that the actual shot is made on faith without 
a pause in the racket's swing after the stroke has 
begun. Thus there are numerous varieties of 
the shot which can range from an opponent's 
smash picked up at the player's feet—the tour 
de force of the alert volleyer—to the slashing 
drives of the Continental player, made at the 
pitch of the ball, and at every height of its 
bound. The most frequent example of the stroke 
is seen when the server in a man's doubles is 
running in towards the net, receives the ball 
too short to volley on the bound, and too deep 
to hit, either through the excellence of the 
opponent's return or his own slowness in coming 
in, and is forced to attempt a compromise which 
results in the shot described above. In this 
position in the court the beginner should never 


HALF-VOLLEY 


65 


intentionally try it, as it is of its nature difficult 
to control, being too fast probably to lift suffi¬ 
ciently to get over the net and keep in court, 
and in addition is an upward-bit shot, wbicb 
should be avoided as much as possible in a 
doubles game. Another often-used example of 
the half-volley is the shot as made in the " no 
man's land '' area of the court, when the in¬ 
experienced played has been caught by a quick 
return of his opponent, or left in a half-hearted 
effort on his own part to get to the net. 

Here the stroke is only used to enable the 
player to escape from an awkward position. 
Needless to say, both varieties are not to be 
recommended for the beginner's use, and would 
never have been brought to his notice in these 
pages had not the certainty of their occurring 
at some time or another in practice justified 
some warning against their deliberate use, and 
only when no other stroke can possibly be 
attempted. 

How to Make the Stroke 

The stroke should be played with the greatest 
attention to the racket's swing, before and in 
5 


66 FIRST STEPS TO LAWN TENNIS 

the course of the shot. The wrist should be 
kept quite firm for both backhand and forehand 
varieties of the stroke; and the ball should be 
watched very closely in its flight, and hit as 
soon after it has pitched as possible, since the 
earlier the stroke is made the easier it becomes 
to control and direct. 

The racket should go back to some extent in 
a backward swing, as—unlike the volley, for 
which there should generally be no swing back— 
the stroke is made with some swing and follow 
through, and a certain amount of transference 
of body weight from one foot to the other in the 
course of it. The racket should be held as 
horizontal as possible, and should travel as far 
as the player can make it do so parallel with the 
ground, and as much along the line of the ball's 
flight as the desired direction of the shot will 
permit. As a general rule the head of the racket 
should be practically vertical or inclined very 
slightly towards the direction of the ball's flight. 
The degree of inclination, however, must vary 
with the striker's position in court when he makes 
the stroke and the moment at which he hits the 
ball. The beginner will thus find cross-court 
drives are more safely returned with this stroke to 


HOW TO MAKE THE STROKE 67 


the court from which the ball arrived, while the 
straight-line shots will go back with more cer¬ 
tainty by a stroke that exactly follows the line of 
the ball's flight, i.e. in a direction parallel to the 
side-lines of the court. The body should as far 
as possible be turned in the sideways position to 
the net as in the other strokes ; and since quick¬ 
ness in making the shot when close to the net 
is more important than the amount of speed 
imparted to the ball, excessive attention to the 
employment of the body weight is less important, 
and may even be discouraged. G. A. Caridia in 
his younger days was the finest exponent of 
this stroke, from every position on the court. 
In his case the racket was held braced very 
firmly across the wrist, which was never allowed 
to bend for any shot on the backhand side. The 
control of the ball on this wing was in con¬ 
sequence better than that on his forehand, which 
was made in many cases with a more flexible 
wrist. This increased the area of direction, but 
lessened the amount of control that the shots 
on this side possessed. Caridia's footwork was 
always excellent. His preparatory work to 
enable him to get into position was, owing to 
his playing position in court (about five feet 


68 FIRST STEPS TO LAWN TENNIS 

inside the base-line), necessarily not exhausting 
although very accurate; by the correct dis¬ 
tribution and use of his body weight, his strokes 
were produced perfectly, and with a very great 
amount of speed and power. His play is an 
example to be admired but never copied by any 
inexperienced player of the game, until his foot¬ 
work is sound and his strokes correctly produced. 

The too frequent use of the stroke will induce 
bad habits in players who are in the learn¬ 
ing stage, and spoil their sense of position in 
court. Moreover, on our grass courts in England 
such a stroke should be left as a general rule for 
exceptional circumstances, since a perfect surface 
and a constant bound are the first requisites for 
the true playing of the shot, which is better em¬ 
ployed on covered courts than on other surfaces. 

DROP SHOT 

The drop shot is another stroke which should 
not be included in the category for beginners. For 
this stroke can only be mastered by means of 
perfect timing and touch, two qualities that come 
last, in their perfection, to the learner of the 
game, and only when he has obtained that 


DROP SHOT 69 

delicate control and power over his own muscles, 
and through them over the ball to be played. 

Thus, although he will find it far too difficult to 
produce with any degree of success in the early 
stages of his practice of the game, the beginner 
should know enough about the stroke to be able 
to recognize it when he sees it coming. 

As he has been warned of the fascination of 
the half-volley because it is so easy to produce, 
so he should be advised not to attempt, too 
soon, the drop shot, because it is so difficult to 
make successfully. For one of the chief draw¬ 
backs to the success of the stroke is the beginner's 
inability to know the right ball off which to 
make it. This virtue the experienced player of 
the stroke nearly always possesses, so that, 
apart from his power of touch and timing, he 
will be more likely to succeed when he does play 
the stroke than if he had made the attempt 
without the necessary preknowledge of when 
to do so. 

The Stroke 

The stroke should be made with the racket 
held firmly (never loosely for any stroke) in that 


70 FIRST STEPS TO LAWN TENNIS 

grip for whichever of the two strokes (back- or 
forehand) the player wishes to make. 

The wrist must be quite flexible, but on no 
account allowed to become slack, since the 
racket must be under perfect control and able 
to be checked at any point in the making of the 
shot. This will ensure the delicacy of touch 
and enable the player to make the stroke with 
the slight drawing action of the racket across 
the ball as the stroke is made. The racket 
should meet the ball with a perfectly full face, 
and the wrist should be used to control and 
direct the power of the shot as the speed and 
height of bound of the ball make it necessary. 
This again is a matter for the player's judgment, 
but as a rule the faster the ball the more the 
wrist should be used to control the racket as it 
meets it, and the more sharply the face should 
be drawn across it as the ball is struck. 

The ball should be hit at the top of its bound 
and at a point just above its equator with the 
downward, drawing movement of the racket 
mentioned above. There is very little swing 
back of the racket, and no weight of the body 
in the stroke, which is made solely with the arm 
and wrist. The racket, therefore, does not 


THE STROKE 


71 


follow through after the ball has been hit, but 
should be checked by the controlling action of 
the wrist and forearm. 

By the use of the wrist, delicacy of touch and 
the concealment of the player's intention until 
the last moment are obtained. Both these 
qualities are essential for the success of the 
shot, in which the elements of finesse and sur¬ 
prise are the main characteristics. 

Enough has been written to convince the 
beginner of the shot's difficulties, which will be 
far more easily explained by a practical illustra¬ 
tion than by much reading. 

Therefore an intelligent study of Mrs. Lar- 
combe's or Miss Ryan's method of playing this 
shot should put the learner on the right path. 
The rest is practice, and of course the correct 
application of the knowledge he has absorbed 
from watching their execution of the stroke, 
together with the small amount of assistance 
he may have obtained by reading these remarks. 

THE CHOP STROKE 

This stroke, which is sure to be found in the 
repertory of every champion^ shots, should be 


72 FIRST STEPS TO LAWN TENNIS 

approached with caution by the beginner in the 
early stages of his practice. 

For, on account of the ease of its production, 
and its tendency, when acquired, to induce bad 
habits, it has been placed in the category of 
strokes which the beginner should understand, 
but the practice of which he had better defer 
to a later stage in his progress. 

The reasons for explaining, while denying it 
to the beginner until he has become thoroughly 
well grounded in the other strokes, are three : 
(i) The method of making the shot is quite 
opposed to that of the orthodox stroke of the 
game, which is hit with either a full-faced blow 
or with top spin, (ii) The importance of station¬ 
ary footwork, position of the feet, and body 
swing, so essential to the correctly produced 
strokes, is of very little account in its production, 
since the stroke is made mainly by the forearm 
alone, helped of course by the wrist at the 
moment of the racket's impact with the ball. 
All the vital points of stroke production are 
thus neglected in this shot, which consequently 
would be bad practice for the novice trying 
to acquire the others, (iii) The shot itself is 
too slow, owing to the undercut imparted 


THE CHOP STROKE 


73 


to the ball. This cut slows up its flight through 
the air, as well as checks its speed off the 
ground. 

Although its value as an auxiliary stroke can¬ 
not be too highly rated, yet it should never be 
allowed to have any other place in the player s 
list of shots. In addition, until the learner has 
acquired, beyond any chance of corruption, the 
best method of making his strokes with swing 
and the full face of his racket, he should never 
be allowed to indulge in experiments, which can 
only tend, if tried too early, to spoil his style 
for the best strokes of the game. 

Its value is undoubted, since it is a good 
variant for a player's ordinary shots : it is very 
useful in breaking up the length of the consistent 
driver; for blocking a fast service on the rise; 
for dealing with the drives of a hard-hitting 
base-line player, with balls that come slowly 
through the air and off the ground—a double 
advantage to the net player, since he is enabled 
to get up to the net while his chop shot is in 
flight to his opponent, whose return is cramped 
by its hang off the ground and its slow bound 
when it has pitched. Thus his drive becomes 
less speedy, and the volleyer obtains the addi- 


74 FIEST STEPS TO LAWN TENNIS 

tional advantage of time to get into position, 
by one and the same device. 

And finally, for cramping the top-spin drives 
of the inveterate player of this stroke the shot 
has no equal if used with discrimination. 

Its chief value in attack is in doubles play, 
where length of stroke is not so important, but 
where a net position is vital, and when the shots 
must be low, hit hard, and yet kept within the 
confines of the court. 

In singles, except in the cases quoted above, 
or on a wet court, or as a last resort of the losing 
player to try something new, its general use can 
never be recommended. 

To make the stroke the player, holding his 
racket with the ordinary forehand grip, should 
hit the ball, taken if possible at the height of 
the waist, with a downward chopping movement 
of the racket, made by the help of the forearm 
and wrist, at an angle of about forty-five degrees 
to its line of flight. Neither body swing nor 
follow through of the racket is required; but 
the stroke is made more easily if the player's 
body is turned sideways to the net, to enable 
the full value of the downward chop to be 
imparted to the ball, and also to allow the player 


THE CHOP STROKE 


75 


more freedom and a wider area of direction 
for his stroke. The ball should be hit almost 
exactly at a point on its equator (if taken waist 
high) and opposite the player's left foot, advanced 
about 1| feet in front of the right. The stroke 
should be made rather more in front of, and 
closer to, the body than in the case of the other 
shots which employ body swing and depend 
for their power on the swing and follow through 
of the racket. 

The wrist at the moment that the racket hits 
the ball should be quite tense and rigid in order 
to stop the racket's downward progress. The 
full effect of the shot will not be obtained unless 
the racket is thus checked in its downward 
direction immediately it has met the ball, which 
thus leaves the racket with the spin imparted 
to it by this chopping action of the stroke. 

STROKES AND TACTICS AND THEIR 
RELATION TO ONE ANOTHER 

The subject-matter of this heading may appear 
a little premature, or even out of place in this 
book, which should deal with the more element¬ 
ary principles of the game. However, the writer 


76 FIRST STEPS TO LAWN TENNIS 


feels that the beginner cannot start too early to 
think, as well as to act, and so has ventured to 
attempt, with the aid of one or two examples, 
to explain some points in tactics which might 
not be out of place in a more advanced work. 

It is a truism, only partly recognized, to say 
that there should be a close relation between 
strokes and tactics; that the means should 
have a definite purpose with regard to the end 
in view. Yet to many players this apparently 
clear relation does not appear so obvious, while 
to others, judging from their methods, it has 
never occurred at all. One sees too often the 
endless rallies between two players, whose strokes 
appear to be made with no other design than 
to get the ball over the net and, through the 
boredom or exhaustion of an opponent, to win 
the point. 

The beginner may think (if he happens to be 
one of the humble ones) that, until he can play 
most of the shots previously explained in this 
book with unfailing regularity, he should not 
give much thought to the less obvious side of 
the game. 

That, in fact, he would be better employed 
with the physical movements of stroke-making 


STROKES AND TACTICS 


77 


than with the mental processes of working out 
their relation to the tactics which depend upon 
them. 

But in reality the beginner should begin to 
think about tactics and the relation of his strokes 
to his plan of campaign, with an eye at the same 
time upon his opponent's weaknesses, as soon 
as he feels he can produce all the strokes with 
sufficient certainty and ease to play an opponent 
in a singles match. 

There are a few obvious examples of this 
relation of strokes and tactics which can best 
illustrate the writer's meaning, even if the 
strokes themselves may at the moment be 
beyond the beginner's capacity. For example, 
an American service, delivered to the opponent's 
backhand in his left court, calls for the return 
by the striker-out across the court to the server's 
backhand side. This return is generally ex¬ 
pected by the server, as he runs in to volley at 
the net, and so he guards his left side of the 
court. The striker-out, therefore, wishes to 
change the direction of his return shot, and play 
it down the line to the server's forehand side, a 
far more difficult stroke to attempt, and one 
which is less likely to be successful. 


78 FIRST STEPS TO LAWN TENNIS 


Thus the server, by guarding his own left side, 
can force the striker-out to run this risk every 
time he (the server) sends down this delivery 
into the striker's left court. The striker-out, 
after taking frequent risks, will begin to make 
mistakes, and will have to vary his return, in 
consequence, with some other shot. 

Another very favourite scheme of tactics is 
that of offering an opponent an apparent 
advantage, which when taken by him brings 
immediate disaster with it. This type of tactics 
in the game of chess, known as a gambit, is well 
illustrated at Lawn Tennis by playing to an 
opponent's strong point in order to gain an 
advantage at a later stage in the rally. Thus, 
since the direction of his return stroke can be 
anticipated with a certain degree of accuracy, 
the player can post himself in the best position 
to crush it when his opponent has fallen into the 
trap and played the stroke invited by the player’s 
original shot. 

As a well-known international player used to 
say, “ Give me an opponent with a favourite 
stroke ; then play to his strength, but take very 
good care to be there when he has made his 
shot, and the point is mine." 


STROKES AND TACTICS 79 

Again, if your opponent has appreciably 
stronger strokes on one side than on the other, 
and a marked tendency to run round most of 
the shots directed to his weaker side, it might 
be considered the obvious thing to attack that 
side. This, however, is the mistake the novice 
in tactics would very probably be tempted to 
make, in his desire to obtain an immediate result 
from his strokes. 

The ultimate consequences of attacking this 
weaker wing have a twofold disadvantage for 
the attacker. The opponent gets practice on 
his weak side and improves thereby, and is still 
able to run round the ball and exploit his strong 
shot when he wants to win the point, because 
the beginner has not first of all prepared the 
way, as it were, by working him out of position 
before the winning shot, directed to the weak 
wing, has been delivered. By playing to his 
opponent's weakness from the beginning, which 
his opponent expects and is prepared for, without 
first of all “ opening up the court," or getting 
his opponent on the run and out of position, the 
player has lessened the value of his hoped-for 
winning shot to the vulnerable side, even if he 
ever gets the opportunity of making it at all. 


80 FIRST STEPS TO LAWN TENNIS 


There are of course many other similar ex¬ 
amples of tactics in relation to the strokes of 
the game; but with these three more or less 
simple examples the beginner should be able 
to understand the theory of their application to 
his plan of campaign. 

And even if at first he may not be sufficiently 
proficient in his strokes to attempt them, he 
can at any rate appreciate their value and the 
principles which underlie their practice. 

LADIES’ PLAY 

There is so much useful advice that could be 
given on this subject, and so little space reserved 
for it, that I am compelled to make a most 
careful selection of my subject-matter in order 
to keep within the limit of the following pages. 

In order that the advice may be of the most 
practical value it will be best to point out to 
beginners the difficulties experienced and the 
mistakes most generally made in playing the 
simple strokes of the game; so that, having 
learned in previous pages the way to produce 
these strokes, they may acquire in the following 
a means to keep them free from faults and bad 
habits. 


LADIES' PLAY 


81 


For, of course, all that has gone before applies 
to both sexes alike, since the previous information 
is mainly composed of points to remember, so 
fundamental in their nature that they are general, 
upon which the elements of the game are 
founded. 

Before discussing the strokes, the beginner 
is advised to obtain the best racket and balls 
available, and always to make a point of playing 
with the best possible implements of the game. 
Her racket ought never to be heavier than 13| oz., 
and should be of an even balance, tightly strung 
with medium gut. This grade lasts longer than 
the finer grades, and so has more practical 
value. 

The question of the player's shoes should also 
have the most careful attention; they should 
be made to measure and fit quite closely, 
especially at heel and instep. The lasting 
qualities of the shoe will be greatly increased 
if the uppers are made of buckskin, which gives 
more support to the foot, and has a better 
appearance, than those shoes with the canvas 
tops. The small addition to the weight of the 
shoe is more than compensated for by the 
improved appearance of the buckskin. The 
6 


82 FIRST STEPS TO LAWN TENNIS 


soles should be of grey or red rubber of a medium 
thickness. 

As to her dress for the game, it is useless to 
suggest any particular material or style for the 
player's consideration, since fashion has decreed 
that all ladies, of however little skill, shall 
resemble as far as possible Mademoiselle Lenglen 
in all other respects when on the court. Hence 
the one-piece dress and the bandeau round the 
hair, to quote the things that matter. In the 
things that matter more, the strokes and style 
of the present lady champion have been less 
imitated than admired, mainly owing to that 
innate quality which defies imitation. However, 
if the beginner can be induced to see her own 
mistakes by comparing her own strokes with 
those of a champion, the difficulties of the shots 
may become plainer, and the way in which to 
correct them more apparent. 

The Service 

In this branch of the game there are at least 
two important points for the beginner to note : 
(i) The correct manner in which the ball should 
be thrown up, as to height and direction, for the 


THE SERVICE 


83 


service; (ii) the style in which the stroke 
should be made from beginning to end of the 
swing of the racket. 

These two actions, when incorrectly made, are 
undoubtedly the cause of many of the vital 
faults to which ladies are prone in the overhead 
service. 

Beginners especially are very careless how they 
throw up the ball for the service. They do this 
very often with a different action and strength 
for each service; so that the ball hardly ever 
attains the same elevation or arrives at the same 
spot in the air on any two occasions. Thus 
they are compelled to hit it at varying positions 
with regard to their bodies each time the service 
is produced. 

Even then if their balance is not destroyed, 
and the efficacy of the stroke spoiled, they will 
never be able to acquire a regular, consistent 
method of delivering the service, through neg¬ 
lect to practise this action, the most important 
factor of any towards its successful production. 

Then very often beginners fail to obtain the 
little extra nip off the ground that use of 
the wrist in service gives to the ball. Failure 
in this respect is caused by their inability to 


84 FIRST STEPS TO LAWN TENNIS 


make the wrist play its part in the produc¬ 
tion of the stroke—very often by having too 
tight a hold of the handle at the beginning 
of the service. If the beginner feels that she 
is not using her wrist at all as the racket comes 
through its forward swing and meets the ball, 
she should allow the head of her racket to 
drop behind her back by slightly easing 
the closeness of her grip (as in Indian club 
swinging) at the very end of the back swing 
and before the forward swing has begun. In 
this way the wrist will be forced to bring up 
the head, as the racket is lifted by the arm, to 
hit the ball. 

A frequent cause of mistiming in service is 
swaying of the body during the backward swing 
of the racket. This is easily cured by keeping 
the back foot very firmly on the ground until 
the ball has been struck. 

The Overhead Smash 

The worst fault of all beginners of both sexes, 
but more especially of ladies, when they try 
this stroke is failure to get into the correct 
position before attempting to play the balL 


THE OVERHEAD SMASH 


85 


They try the shot too often when the ball is well 
behind their heads, and the stroke is spoiled. 
They should always endeavour to get much 
farther back under the ball than they think will 
be necessary for the stroke. Then in most cases 
they will find that they are in the best position 
for it, and will not have to hurry the swing, or 
spoil their balance by reaching back beyond their 
heads to hit the ball at all. In any case a good 
rule to remember is to have the “ body weight ” 
always on the foot farthest away from the ball 
before the stroke is begun, so that it may be put 
into the swing of the shoulder and arm in the 
course of the stroke, and power imparted to the 
shot. So start early, get into the best position 
as soon as possible, keep the weight on the back 
foot from the moment you have got into that 
position, and watch the ball more closely than 
you have ever done before, and your smash 
will be good. 

The Forehand Stroke 

The beginner usually treats this stroke far 
too lightly, and it suffers accordingly. The 
chief faults in its making appear to be a far too 


86 FIRST STEPS TO LAWN TENNIS 


careless method of stroke-production with all 
the attendant bad habits. These may be 
enumerated as follows : body kept square to 
the net, and leaning backwards away from the 
ball as the racket hits the ball; feet too close 
together and side by side generally, instead 
of in front of one another parallel to the net; 
and the stroke made too close to the body with 
a species of scooping action of the racket. With 
all these bad faults the stroke played in this way 
is bound to be a failure. If the following sugges¬ 
tions are carried out the stroke will be a success. 
The beginner can judge for herself by actual 
practice which is the easier way to proceed; 
there is no doubt which style produces the 
better results. 

Never be too near the ball; rather miss 
it (as the late A. F. Wilding used to say to 
beginners) by being too far away from it; always 
keep the body turned in the sideways position 
to the net when making any stroke ; never try 
to hit the ball in a ground stroke without the 
backward swing of the racket, made with the 
help of the shoulders as well as of the arm 
holding the racket. 


THE BACKHAND STROKE 


87 


The Backhand Stroke 

The real stumbling-block of the beginner, and 
one that is in too few instances properly sur¬ 
mounted. Here again the reason for failure is 
faulty preparatory footwork which has failed 
to get the player to within comfortable striking 
distance of the ball, and a cramped, feeble 
shot has resulted. Or through incorrect use 
of the body weight (more than ever valuable in 
backhand strokes) and absence of swing, the 
racket does not meet the ball in a free, easy 
movement, but is hurriedly jerked at it, and 
a “ snatched ” shot is produced. 

If beginners have acquired the correct grip of 
the racket and good methods of stroke-produc¬ 
tion, the chief faults to which they will be liable 
will result from not being in position early 
enough for the shot, failure to get the correct 
sideways position of the body to the net, which 
results from the first, and a tendency to be too 
near the ball when the stroke attempted, owing 
to the more awkward position (across the body) 
that the arm has to be in when the swing back 
of the racket is begun. And, moreover, the 
shots on the backhand require more body 


88 FIRST STEPS TO LAWN TENNIS 

weight, swing of the racket, and use of the 
shoulders for their successful production than 
the others on the forehand side of the body, 
because every movement is less free and more 
troublesome to make. 

The important points to bear in mind, there¬ 
fore, are as follows i Get into the sideways 
position for the stroke as early as possible; 
thus the stroke will be made without hurry 
and should be smooth and free. Swing the 
racket well back in the backward swing, and 
never increase the speed of the stroke by a jerky 
or uneven motion of the forward swing, but at 
an even rate of acceleration distributed all 
through the swing towards the ball, until it is 
struck by the racket. 

W ith these few hints and don , ts on the three 
primary strokes of the game I will close these 
remarks. Some strokes—the volley, for ex¬ 
ample have not been mentioned, but the aim 
was to discuss the faults, and the remedies for 
them, of those strokes whose correct production 
is governed by rules which are fundamental to 
all the others of the game and so contain the 
principles that underlie the rest. If the beginner 
will be enabled to improve her game by the help 


USEFUL HINTS AND POINTS 89 


of the suggestions contained in these pages, their 
existence will have been justified, and some 
assistance given where it was really needed. 

USEFUL HINTS AND POINTS 

In the foregoing pages we have dealt with 
the chief strokes of the game from the beginner's 
point of view, also with some of the more simple 
forms of tactics. These subjects have been 
treated in as simple a manner as possible in order 
not to confuse the beginner with many rules, 
but to help him, when possible, to obtain some 
groundwork and knowledge in correct stroke- 
production. 

I will conclude with some final hints and 
points, often lost sight of, and put as shortly as 
possible, wdiich should be useful to all players, 
experienced or the reverse, who play the game. 

Hints in General 

To begin the series, there is nothing better 
than the trio of time-honoured directions, of 
which two are invariably neglected by every 
player to a greater or less degree. 

Keep your eye on the ball; not only when it 


90 FIRST STEPS TO LAWN TENNIS 

leaves your opponent's racket, is coming over 
the net, or when it is nearly on your own racket, 
but watch it, as if you wanted to read the name 
on it, right up to the moment that your racket 
hits it. 

Concentrate on what you want to do, and don't 
let your attention be distracted from that for a 
moment. 

Don't fuss or excite yourself over the shot; 
take it as calmly and quietly as possible. Over¬ 
anxiety produces unduly tightened muscles 
and a cramped stroke. So keep calm and the 
shot will play itself. 

Always play with the best racket and balls; 
if the good player requires good implements, the 
inferior performer requires them even more. 

Make a vow never to use old or dirty balls; 
the reason is too obvious to need stating. 

Never dispute an umpire's or linesman's de¬ 
cision, however wrong it may appear to be at 
the time. The umpire is probably in the right 
more often than not, as he is better placed for 
seeing all the shots than the players, who should 
be watching the ball, and not the place where it 
has pitched. In any case, if the umpire knows 
his work, you will gain nothing by complaining, 


HINTS IN GENERAL 


91 


even if you don't prejudice his mind against you 
for the next doubtful one upon which he has to 
decide. 

Never play slackly or carelessly; if your 
interest in the game has gone, stop playing as 
soon as you can without spoiling the sport of 
the other players. Bad habits are acquired in 
this way, which later on it will cost you much 
time and trouble to discard. 

Always try to play with players better than 
yourself; you will then always be trying your 
hardest, and will learn something while doing 
so of their game and your own possibilities. 

Watch good tennis, but watch it intelligently; 
keep in mind what it is that you want to learn 
from the play, and study that in the players. A 
general impression*, which is obtained from a 
lazy way of watching the game, is no good for 
analysis of the play. 

The unintelligent looker-on sees too much, 
and gets a clear impression of nothing. 

Hints for Play and Practice 

Always do your best in practice, and try your 
hardest— not necessarily to win each game, but 


92 FIEST STEPS TO LAWN TENNIS 


to strengthen your weak points; and concen¬ 
trate on the practice as though you were playing 
in a match. 

While waiting for the ball always support the 
head of the racket with the unemployed hand. 
This will relieve your racket arm and wrist, and 
enable you to adopt whatever grip you want for 
the shot you have to play. 

After you have made your shot, don't remain 
“ planted '' on the court; but try to help your 
body forwards with the follow through of the 
racket, by letting the back foot come from the 
ground, as the racket swings through after the 
stroke is made. 

Eemember that the length as well as the speed 
of all shots should be regulated by the length of 
the swing back in the first and the speed of the 
forward swing in the second instance. Never 
accelerate the speed of the racket unevenly or 
jerkily, but with a smooth and gradually increas¬ 
ing speed as the ball is struck. 

Don't forget to turn over the head of the 
racket, by turning over the wrist, as the follow 
through is completed in making all strokes off 
the ground. This little action has more than 
the virtue of giving a small degree of top spin 


HINTS FOR PLAY AND PRACTICE 93 


to the ball; it most distinctly eases the muscles 
of the forearm, which would be considerably 
stretched as the racket is swept outwards at the 
end of the stroke if it is not employed. 

Don't if possible grip the handle of your 
racket with the full strength of your little finger, 
or in fact of any of the fingers, unequally. This 
again unduly stretches those muscles on the 
under side of the forearm. 

Don't grasp your racket as though it is a pike¬ 
staff, but rather grip it firmly yet delicately by 
means of the thumb and forefinger with the other 
fingers as controlling agencies. In this way you 
will always have your wrist muscles in command, 
and never have a wrist completely stiffened up 
and incapable of a delicate stroke. 

Don't hold the racket with too long a grip, 
in this way you lose control of it, and never have 
the feeling that it is one with your arm that the 
shorter, firmer hold gives to you. 

Hints for Service 

Don't forget the foot-fault rules in practice, 
in actual play, or at any moment. Observe 
them all as faithfully in practice as in actual 


94 FIRST STEPS TO LAWN TENNIS 


matches. Bad habits in this respect are more 
easily picked up than in any other strokes, 
mainly because such a very little means so 
much; and a foot-fault called, spells too often 
a lost service game. 

Don't accelerate the speed of your swing 
suddenly and think you will gain speed thereby. 
You will only mistime the ball and probably 
strain your arm and shoulder. 

Don't waste effort in jerks, or uneven hitting 
at the ball, but increase the speed of your racket 
all through the forward swing until the ball is 
struck. 

Don't lift the back foot from the ground until 
you have hit the ball. Care over this point will 
prevent your body from swaying, and so give 
your arm a truer centre from which to work, 
besides saving you from many foot-faults later 
on when you follow in your service to the net. 

Always take the ball in service as high as 
possible without straightening completely the 
elbow joint before the stroke is made, since 
greater freedom and power are obtained by 
observing this point than by making the stroke 
with a fully extended arm. Moreover, the value 
of the throwing action and the power obtained 


HINTS FOR SERVICE 


95 


by straightening the joints of the arm in making 
it gives a lot of speed to the service in addition. 

And always remember that ninety-nine services 
out of one hundred are spoiled because beginners 
cannot throw the ball up correctly, and never 
in the same manner and to the same height 
twice running. 

The beginner should practise throwing up the 
ball in all his spare moments until he can do so 
without variation or failure ; then he will have 
overcome the most important obstacle towards 
the acquisition of a good service. 

Final and most important point of all: see 
that you know thoroughly the laws of the game 
and understand them perfectly in letter and 
spirit before you begin to play. If the know¬ 
ledge of the letter of the law is important, the 
understanding of its spirit is vital to good 
sportsmanship. 


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